Orange and Purple
by Aithne Morrigan
Summary: When you're a demigod, you need to make the most of your time. Piper Mclean and Jason Grace know that better than most. Repost- had some problems with the formatting. Happy Valentines Day, FortyFandoms.


**Warning: contains a lot of Jasper! I know some people don't like that so if you don't like, don't read!**

 **This is a Valentines gift for my good friend, the lovely and inspiring FortyFandoms. When I sent you that first PM, I honestly wasn't expecting for us to become such good friends. The Fates must have been involved. Happy Valentines day.**

* * *

 _February 1, 10:41 AM_

 _-Love=more than looks_

 _-Stop clichés_

 _-Don't flirt too much or over-celebrate_

 _-Surprise them_

 _-Relax_

Piper Mclean sighed and added _-Have fun!_ to the list she was currently making. February was, not surprisingly because Valentines Day was a thing, the busiest time of the year for the Aphrodite kids— and particularly Piper, since she was head counselor. And it wasn't like she was going to let Drew handle any of it— gods forbid. Cabin Ten practically turned into a business during February. Their clients last year had included a distraught Travis Stoll asking how to show Katie Gardner that he liked her without making her hate him even more, and a befuddled Will Solace asking the best way to deliver a Valentines note to Nico di Angelo. So no, Drew wasn't going to handle any of it. If she did…Piper cut off that thought, not wanting to even think about that scenario.

Piper dealt with most of the clients herself, but she did have a few advisors— Mitchell and Lacy were the best— that did some and helped her out with tricky cases. They were the ones that she could trust to actually act in the best interest of the client. Needless to say, Drew was not in that group.

The charmspeaker sighed glanced around at all her half siblings. There were a lot of them, since their collective mother was the goddess of love, and, well, Aphrodite did love her men. Piper supposed you couldn't really blame her— she was the goddess of love, after all.

Currently, they were all in Cabin Ten doing various things. Drew was doing her nails as usual, Lacy was rearranging the pillows on her bunk so that they looked "aesthetically pleasing" as she said, Mitchell was ironing bed sheets, Johnnie was testing the settings for indoor lighting on his camera, etc.

And what was the head counselor doing on this particular morning? Well, I'm glad you asked. She was making a list. Why was she making a list, you might ask? Well, it was February 1st, which meant that the Valentines season was just kicking off. This was the charmspeaker's third Valentines as head Aphrodite camper, and boy, was it exhausting. But the list— well, she was getting ready to give her cabin the annual pep talk about the upcoming holiday, and what it really meant, and the dos and don'ts that she always insisted on. Her first year doing Valentines as counselor had been a bit of a disaster, as she had had no idea what to expect. Last year had gone pretty well (though she crashed for forty-eight hours straight afterwards) and this time, Piper was determined to do it right again. No more ten-year-old daughters of Tyche would be scarred for life this time, she was positive.

Anyway, the list was just some bullet points of what she wanted to cover in the pep talk.

Piper took a deep breath, stood up, and called out "Alright, everyone! Gather round!"

Her siblings all came over and sat on the ground in front of her. Well, all of them except for Drew. She continued doing her nails, pretending that she hadn't heard. The head counselor waited sixty seconds to see if Drew would 'notice.' When she didn't, Piper called out again, this time using charmspeak, "Drew, sweetie? Did you hear me the first time?"

Being a charmspeaker herself, Drew was harder to charmspeak than most people, but Piper was much, much more powerful.

The 'Plastic Bag,' as Lacy said she was called at the mortal school that they both went to, looked up. "Yes," she said, sounding dazed. "I heard you."

Piper nodded. "Are you a person?"

"Yes."

"Are you sitting in this cabin right now?"

"Yes."

"Then I think that 'everyone' includes you."

"Yes."

"So come over here."

"Okay."

 _Finally,_ Piper thought as Drew walked over and sat on the floor with the rest. Now, it was time for the "Valentines pep talk" as the cabin had dubbed it.

"Alright, everyone. It's February First, and you all know what that means."

Charlie, the youngest girl in the cabin at six years old, squeaked with her lisp "Falerdeenes dee!" A few people chuckled and awwwed.

Piper allowed herself a smile before continuing. "Yes, Valentines day. Now, as Aphrodite campers, it is our duty to make this a good and fun holiday for all people. But we haven't always done a great job in the past of making people happy, so this year we're going make sure we do a good job. If any of you make someone cry…well, you'll be hearing from me."

The counselor paused and looked each one of her siblings straight in the eye, showing clearly that she meant this threat. The Aphrodite campers shuffled uneasily under her gaze; Piper was quite intimidating; they all knew what she could do with Katoptris and the jagged sword that she'd acquired from Zethes the Boread.

Not to mention the fiery light in her eyes that came from being one of the main players in a major war, and fighting for her life. Even though she made an effort to seem approachable, many of the younger kids at camp were afraid to look her in the eye. As she made eye contact with each and every one of the Aphrodite campers with that fire in her eyes, many people gulped and leaned back.

"So here are my rules for a good Valentines. First— I know that I've said this many times, but I'll say it again— _beauty is more than looks._ Got a crush? Don't dress up too much for them. You can and should dress up a little, but just be who you are. If you capture their heart because you're wearing beautiful clothes and makeup, it's not love. Be who you are, and if they don't like that, well that sucks, but I think it's better to have no relationship than a fake one. If you're not in a relationship and you don't have a crush, again, be who you are and you never know, someone might notice you. If you're in a relationship, play to your strengths. Girls— I know for a fact that just a few very subtle little touches— wear their favorite color, highlight your eyes with makeup _just a TINY bit,_ etc…just a little bit can make guys practically unable to form a complete sentence. Point is…"

Piper continued with the pep talk. It was basically about not going overboard with the celebrations and flirting, and being original.

Finally, she finished. All the Aphrodite campers went back to their normal activities— that is, they did after Mitchell burned himself on the clothes iron, which caused quite a bit of drama. But once that was over, Piper made her bed.

After that, she had nothing else to do, and the rest of the campers were leaving for various activities such as arts and crafts and archery. But Piper didn't feel like going to the arena, and the only other things that she really enjoyed were canoeing and Ancient Greek, and there would be big groups doing those right now, so she didn't go.

As she laid on her bunk and stared at the ceiling of the cabin, she wondered idly why she didn't want to go to the arena. After several minutes of deliberation, she figured it out. If she went, it was highly likely that she'd either get roped into helping out the new kids, or roped into sparring with one of the Seven— most likely Percy or Jason, who were exhausting to spar with and were much better than her anyway. No, Piper would go to the arena later in the day when there weren't as many people.

But something else was bothering her, something that she'd tried to push away and ignore. Unfortunately, with Valentines Day approaching, she couldn't ignore it any longer.

She had no idea what to do for Jason for Valentines.

Piper gave a bitter laugh. Ironic, even with the rather long pep talk she'd given to her siblings earlier on this subject, she still had no idea what to do for her own boyfriend.

As she was pondering the meaning of her miserable life, the door of Cabin Ten opened and in stepped Mitchell, one of Piper's half brothers.

Piper nodded in greeting and went back to staring at the ceiling, thinking that Mitchell had simply forgotten something and come back to the cabin to retrieve it. So she was rather surprised when he sat down on her bed.

Confused, Piper sat up. "What's up, Mitchell?"

Mitchell hid a smirk. "I should be the one asking _you_ that. I saw you looking a bit vexed this morning, and I thought…"

Half an hour later, Mitchell left the cabin, and Piper smiled, now feeling considerably better about the coming Valentines.

* * *

 _February 10, 10:37 AM_

Jason Grace was freaking out.

Valentines day was approaching fast, and he wanted to do something really special for Piper— not just the usual cliche notes, something that she'd _remember._

But there was a problem.

Most campers, when faced with this sort of issue, would go to the Aphrodite cabin for assistance. But Jason's girlfriend was the head counselor of Ten, and he knew that she usually talked to most of their "clients" personally, and he wanted to surprise her, so he had a real dilemma.

Percy had found him in Cabin One last week, pacing the floor so much that he was likely to wear a hole in the floor, and practically pulling his hair out in frustration. The son of Poseidon had chuckled.

"In a bit of a Valentines mare's nest, are you?"

Jason had groaned dramatically and flopped down on his bed. "Yep, pretty much."

"Look, man, I can't really relate to you in this, but here's my advice— try and talk to one of the other Aphrodite campers alone. I recommend Lacy or Riley. Unlike Drew, you can trust them. They'll listen and give you honest advice, and they won't go spilling anything to the entire camp."

Percy had then exited the cabin, leaving the son of Jupiter to his gloomy thoughts.

It had now been a week since that little exchange. He'd tried to take Percy's advice— really he had, but he couldn't seem to catch Riley or Lacy on their own.

He was now lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling of his cabin.

 _Knock, knock._

Jason almost jumped out of his purple SPQR t-shirt. "C-coming!" he called, fumbling around for his rectangular spectacles. When he opened the door, it took him a few seconds for his brain to register what he was seeing.

Lacy, the eleven-year-old daughter of Aphrodite, was standing there with her arms crossed and a badly concealed smirk plastered all over her flushed face.

The son of Jupiter was very confused. Why would Lacy want to visit him? Some of the younger kids occasionally came by asking for autographs, but Jason knew this particular girl wouldn't do that. She knew that none of the Seven liked being treated like great heroes, even if that's technically what they were, and she respected—

"Well?"

 _And here we are, back to the present._ Jason was abruptly jerked out of his little ADHD world like a fish on a line when Lacy spoke. She was still trying to hide her huge smirk, and failing miserably. Jason wasn't sure why she was trying, surely she knew that it wasn't working. And he still wasn't any less confused as to why she was here.

And then he realized why the daughter of Aphrodite had broken the silence. He was rudely standing in the doorway, staring dumbfounded at her, and who knows how long he'd been doing that.

"Oh— uh— come in— sorry—"

Lacy waved him off as she stepped inside the cabin, chuckling. "No worries."

Jason nodded, but he was still very confused. The question must have been written all over his face, because Lacy snorted and sat down against a column.

"You're wondering why I'm here." It was a statement, not a question.

Jason nodded dumbly.

"Well, you see, your current predicament…"

Half an hour later, Lacy left the cabin. Jason was smiling, feeling like a brick had just been lifted off his forehead.

* * *

 _February 10, 11:14 AM_

Lacy and Mitchell met up in the middle of the green, by Hestia's hearth.

"So how'd it go?" Mitchell asked.

"Simply 'mazing, you?"

The brown-haired boy rolled his eyes at his half sister's choice of words. "Same here."

Lacy smiled. "Good, we can't have our head counselor all stressed out about Valentines. Now what do you say we go practice archery?"

As they walked away chatting amiably, neither noticed the eight-year-old girl with warm fiery eyes, sitting by the hearth and smiling fondly.

* * *

 _February 12, 4:52 PM._

Jason hurried back into the borders of CHB, nodding to Peleus the dragon. He was holding a large bundle wrapped in an _L._ shopping bag, which he was attempting to hide under his thin purple windbreaker, and there was a very noticeable square lump in his pocket. He sprinted across the green and quickly ducked into Cabin One, breathing a sigh of relief. Hopefully Piper hadn't seen him.

It wasn't fancy, but then again, Piper never did like anything too fancy.

* * *

 _February 13, 10:27 PM._

Piper sat on her bunk and stared at the paperwork in her hand. It was all set up— this Valentines would be one that neither of them would forget. It had all been last-minute; she'd only thought of it a few days ago, and it had only worked out because of her dad's connections. They'd have to improvise a bit— okay, a lot— but she figured they'd both be fine with that.

It wasn't perfect, but then again, Jason never did like anything too perfect.

* * *

 _February 14, 9:37 AM._

The day had finally arrived.

Jason and Piper were sitting on the roof of Cabin One, the same place they'd watched the meteor shower from after the Giant War.

Piper took a deep breath and handed Jason the plane tickets.

He squinted, adjusting his glasses. "Montana?"

She nodded, her heart pounding. "I thought we could go skiing or…or something. If you don't want to go, I can cancel the flight—"

Jason cut her off with a kiss.

They didn't move for several minutes, seeing as there was nothing to interrupt them.

Finally Jason pulled away, gasping. Piper gave him an amused look. "Look at that, the son of Jupiter can't get enough air."

He swatted her lightly. "Oh, shut up." But he was smiling.

Then his expression turned serious. "But seriously Pipes, this is amazing. _You're_ amazing." A conspiratorial look flitted across his face. "And it actually ties in perfectly with my gift for you. I was going to give it to you now, but I think I'll wait till Montana."

Piper smiled. "Fine with me." Then she pulled him back into the kiss.

* * *

 _February 14, 5:42 PM._

"I didn't have time to reserve a hotel, so we'll have to camp." Piper held up the two orange CHB backpacks. They contained two sleeping bags, a two-person tent, some freeze dried meals, and a first aid kit. "I did some research, and there's a tiny little campsite half a mile away from the ski slopes. There shouldn't be anyone else there, but it's not too far to get to the slopes."

Jason grinned. "What do you mean, we'll _have_ to camp? I think you didn't reserve the hotel on purpose."

Piper smirked. "Maybe."

* * *

 _February 14, 10:09 PM._

"So, remember on our first quest together, when I promised to get you a new snowboarding jacket?"

The daughter of Aphrodite rolled her eyes. "Course, dummy. You never did…oh."

They were sitting— cuddled up together for warmth— on top of their sleeping bags inside of their small two-person tent.

Jason smiled sheepishly, scratched the back of his neck in an embarrassed way, and handed her the bundle that he'd snuck into camp a few days ago. Piper rolled her eyes at him again and opened it.

The anorak was dark purple, with orange thread and a soft genuine ermine lining.

She tried for a scowl, but Jason thought it looked more like a twisted smile. "Three years. Took you long enough."

He chuckled nervously. "Yeah…hehe. I definitely did _not_ forget about it. Nope, definitely not."

She rolled her eyes yet again and pecked him on the cheek.

"But all joking aside, thank you, Jason. I love it. And no, that isn't sarcasm."

He smirked. "That isn't all of it. You'll have to wait for the next part."

"Fine with me." Impulsively, she threw her arms around the son of Jupiter and pulled him back into the kiss.

* * *

 _February 15, 4:56 PM._

Jason was terrified.

Yes, he, Jason Grace, son of Jupiter, who had faced down the Trojan sea monster, the Titan Krios, and Nico di Angelo in a bad mood, was terrified of what he was going to do tonight.

What if he lost his nerve? What if she refused? What if she broke up with him? What if…

 _Stop it, Jason,_ he chided himself. _Remember, we have nothing to fear except fear itself. Ah gods, that was cheesy. But really, don't think about the what-ifs. Just don't._

He and Piper were sitting in a ski lift, their sides pressed together and their ski-clad feet swinging in the wind.

She turned to him. "Hey, you okay? You look nervous."

 _Crap. She noticed._

"Oh—uh—it's nothing, really."

She raised an eyebrow. That was the problem with dating a daughter of Aphrodite; she could almost read his emotions. He'd actually asked her once if she _could_ read emotions— like a satyr— but she'd laughed and shook her head. _No, not really,_ she'd said. _I'm just more perceptive of emotions than the average person, but I can't really_ read _them like satyrs can._

Luckily, Piper didn't interrogate him. He doubted he could keep his plan a secret if she did. Most of the time she didn't even have to use charmspeak, instead she just looked at him with those beautiful— not to mention super distracting—kaleidoscopic eyes and he always caved in.

They reached the top of the slope and got off the ski lift to make their next run down the ski slope. _Skiing is fun,_ Jason thought. He and Piper had spent all day racing down the various slopes of the mountain.

But it was getting late, and this would be their last run of the day. Then they'd go back to the remote campsite to watch the sunset—they had a great view to the west there, over the mountains. And that was when Jason would put his plan into action. Unless he lost his nerve, that is.

* * *

 _February 15, 7:12 PM._

They were sitting in the snow outside their tent, watching the sky turn a billion shades of orange and purple with a few streaks of red on the horizon right around the brilliance that was Apollo.

But right now, Jason thought that even his cousin couldn't compare to his girlfriend's radiance. Piper's eyes contained even more colors than the sky. Her skin looked like it was turning to gold Midas-style…no, he was not going to think about Midas right now. _Bad Jason, very bad Jason._

She turned to him. "Why are you so jittery today?"

Time for Jason momentarily stopped. He looked up at the sky. _Orange and purple,_ he realized. _Greek and Roman. A billion shades of orange and purple. Two colors that normally don't go together, yet today they're in perfect harmony. Greeks and Romans don't usually find happiness together, and yet here we are._

Now was the perfect moment. He could almost feel the small box getting heavier in his pocket.

Time returned to it's normal speed. Instead of answering Piper, he shifted so that he was on one knee in the snow, facing her, but not blocking her view of the sunset.

Piper was confused at this point. She turned so that she was looking at him face-on. What was he doing? And why hadn't he answered her question?

He locked eyes with her. Gods, she could get lost in those piercing blue orbs. And she had, on more than one occasion. It was so annoying when she was trying to spar with him. Though, she suspected that he had the same problem with her eyes.

Jason reached into his pocket and pulled out a small object. Without breaking eye contact, he opened it and held it up.

It was a small wooden box, wrapped in red-brown leather. And inside…Piper suddenly couldn't breathe. Realization dawned on her.

The ring was very simple— rose gold, with no etchings. It was shaped into a tree-branch-like pattern around the dark red garnet stone. The stone was unpolished, rough, like it was straight from the mine. Overall, the ring wasslightly imperfect, rough around the edges— it definitely looked handmade, not machine-made.

In other words, it was just right.

Piper looked back up at Jason, tears forming in her eyes. But before she could say anything, Jason began speaking.

"Look, I know we're both young. But it's a fact of our…well, _peculiar_ life that we might not live to get old, so we need to make the most of our time. And I know that it's uncommon— well, basically unheard of, actually— for Greeks and Romans to find happiness together. But I for one don't care what people think. You saved my butt from Khione and the Boreads, both on our first quest and when they attacked the Argo II. And— er— you made me realize that breaking the rules maybe wasn't so bad. Piper, I—I love you from the deepest, darkest corners of my heart."

"So… will you—"

Piper didn't even let him finish. She lunged forward and threw her arms around him, burying her face in Jason's coat. She could hear his heartbeat, and she wasn't a daughter of Apollo but it seemed like his heart was going much faster than was normal. Tears of joy spilled from her eyes, and she let loose a weird sort of noise that sounded like a sob and a laugh had a baby.

She lifted her head to look Jason in the eye again. He was staring at her with a rather amusing deer-in-headlights expression, which was quickly changing to a strange kind of confused hope.

She punched him in the chest. "Of course I'll marry you, idiot!"

* * *

 _February 28, 1:04 PM_

"…And that, guys, is what happened. Happy now?"

Piper and Jason were sitting on Piper's bunk in Cabin Ten with stupid grins on their faces. When they'd walked into Camp Half-Blood, her cabinmates had immediately noticed the rings and wasted no time kidnapping the two lovers, dragging them to Cabin Ten, and hounding them for every little detail. Piper had no doubt that the story would be all over camp within an hour.

The Aphrodite campers cheered so loudly that the sound probably woke up coma patients in Croatia. Even Drew was applauding.

 _You know,_ Piper thought as she smiled and leaned her head on Jason's shoulder, _for all it's dangerous quirks, maybe being a demigod isn't so bad._


End file.
